This performance of Bye Bye Blackbird is a rare appearance of Carmen McRae with the Count Basie Orchestra. It’s from a Japanese broadcast in 1974 and Carmen was in her prime. Well, if you care to figure out which prime that was!
It’s Carmen McRae and Dizzy Gillespie live in concert … two jazz legends performing one classic standard. Dizzy’s gentle backing is second only to Carmen’s incredible phrasing of The End Of A Beautiful Friendship! Like fine wine, she just got better with age as her voice mellowed.
